


Talk English to Me

by Sir_Arghs_III



Category: Ghost Hunt
Genre: Humor, so Naru really is english
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-07
Updated: 2016-03-07
Packaged: 2020-01-16 13:06:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18522133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sir_Arghs_III/pseuds/Sir_Arghs_III
Summary: The SPR team knew that working under the world-renowned Oliver Davis was no joke. But trust Yasuhara to find one anyway. This time, everyone was in on the joke, except for the boss. Post-canon.





	Talk English to Me

Houshou Takigawa leaned back on the sofa and sighed. “So. What now?” he asked, looking at the ceiling. It was a week after Naru returned to Japan and a few days after the Agawa case, and everyone was gathered at SPR’s reception as usual. Needless to say, ‘everyone’ excluded dull, workaholic men.

“What now, you say... Can’t we just act like normal?” Ayako Matsuzaki replied as she received the cup of tea Mai was offering.

“Idiot. You can’t act normal when your boss is one of the most celebrated paranormal scientists in the world today. Of course you’d want to show that you deserve to work under him.” He shrugged in an act of nonchalance. “I would, definitely.”

“You would because you’re a fanboy, Bou-san~” Mai Taniyama giggled as the monk flushed.

“Y-You just don’t understand. Right, John?”

“‘Tis a bit intimidating, yes.” John Brown smiled kindly. “But I think Shibuya-san would prefer it if we treated him as Shibuya Kazuya-san instead of Oliver Davis-san.”

“It is as he says,” Masako Hara seconded, still in that haughty, cutesy voice that pissed Mai off.

And as always, it did piss Mai off. “Says the one who used his identity to coerce his obedience.”

“It is called ‘strategy’.”

“You—!!”

The ringing of the door chimes stopped her full assault, and the entrance of Kazuya Shibuya stopped her heartbeat for a millisecond. But the sight of a disgruntled Naru stopped everyone from moving an inch, except for Koujo Lin who came in after the boss heading straight for the safety of his office.

“ _Good morning, Boss._ ” Osamu Yasuhara greeted. The others turned to their boss in alarm.

“ _Morning,_ ” Naru grumbled as he beelined to his office.

When the door closed, the irregulars and Mai shifted their shocked faces to Yasuhara’s grinning one. Then, they all looked at each other for a long time. And grinned like the glasses-wearing part-time receptionist.

* * *

Noll had patiently waited for his older brother to wake up. He had so many questions and so much more criticism for Gene, but after their last contact during the Agawa case, they have not been able to get in touch. He distracted himself in the meantime by reviewing past cases and reading about different kinds of haunting with their equivalent methods of exorcism to prepare for their potential client. He would not have realized that afternoon had turned to night had turned to dawn had Lin not given him the usual seven o’clock wake-up call. And so he put on sweat clothes, did his now-everyday routine of Tu-na, and prepared for the day, all the while keeping himself in the reflection of a mirror.

When even the mirror on the underside of the van’s sun visor showed no signs of a stupidly smiling identical but younger face, he was officially exasperated. But being the professional, mature genius that he was, he was able to keep his temper in check as he approached the SPR door and heard Mai noisily chattering with the rest of his team. He opened the door and briskly walked to his office.

“ _Good morning, Boss._ ” Yasuhara-san greeted suddenly.

“ _Morning,_ ” he managed to reply before closing his door behind him. A nagging feeling came with the shutting sound of the door.

What was it?

He caught his reflection in the gleaming glass of his bookshelf and scowled. It must be because Gene cannot cross over and is causing him trouble like always.

* * *

At exactly ten o’clock, the potential client arrived. “Good afternoon. My name is Mizuki Eika. I arranged an appointment the other day…” a visibly distressed woman bowed.

“Yes, please come in and sit down.” Mai smiled pleasantly as she motioned to an empty seat at the settee, slightly dispelling the obvious worry and fear on the client’s face.

When tea had been served and the client had been introduced to everyone, Naru began his interview. “Please recount your circumstances in as much detail as you can.”

“…Of course…” Mizuki-san hesitated but continued, “My husband and I decided to move to his parents’ house so we could look after them. At the first two weeks of our stay, everything was normal. But three weeks ago my parents-in-law began entertaining this invisible guest they call Mi-chan. They would talk to it during mealtime, make tea for it—they treated it like they would a normal human.”

“ _What do you think?_ ” Bou-san addressed Naru, who was scribbling notes on his black notebook.

Without seeming to have acknowledged the question, the boss replied, “ _The client is not done yet._ ” He turned to Mizuki-san. “ _Please continue._ ”

Naru was so concentrated on writing his thoughts and follow-up questions that he did not see how Ayako almost choked on her tea, how Mai slowly walked backwards into the kitchenette to giggle unrestrainedly but silently, how Lin alternately stared at him and at the three younger men who were nervously smiling, grinning, and shaking with glee, respectively, and how Masako had covered more than half of her face with her kimono sleeve.

“Eh?” The tension in the client’s body was replaced by confusion and surprise. Unsure whether the long-haired man was training the younger one in English or otherwise, she continued, “ _Uh, yes. Of course, my husband and I don’t see it and are worried that this guest has come to take our parents away. They were at that age when they were supposed to enter their ‘second childhood’, after all. If their guest is waiting for a chance to spirit them away once they lower their guard—_ ” Mizuki-san inhaled sharply. “ _We’re not prepared for that, my husband and I._

“ _Please,_ ” she pleaded with a bow, “ _help us find out what is happening to our parents. They’re the only ones I have left._ ” The sad worry in her voice was so evident that all the mirth in the room was forgotten and replaced with sympathy.

After a short, silent while, Mai placed an encouraging hand on the client’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, Mizuki-san, we’ll do our best to help you.” She looked at her boss, daring him to shut her up. He did not. “I promise.”

At the finality of Mai’s promise, Naru sighed. “It is possible that this may not be due to the occurrence of paranormal phenomena. Are you still inclined to request an investigation?”

Mizuki-san nodded. “Today, if possible.”

He stood up. “Then, please coordinate the arrangements with our investigator, Lin. We shall leave at one o’clock.”

* * *

A few hours later found Mai stretching her arms in front of a rather large but cozy-looking house. “So? Why are you guys all here, too?” she asked the group who alighted from Bou-san’s car.

“Don’t be so cold, Taniyama-san. Surely we’re here to help with the case,” Yasuhara answered innocently despite the glint in his spectacles. “It’s such a shame that Brown-san and Hara-san have prior commitments, though.”

Bou-san just whistled an annoying tune, avoiding her gaze.

Ayako rolled her eyes at the other two’s antics. “You know why we’re here, Mai. We want to see how long it would take before Naru notices—”

“—Notices what, Matsuzaki-san?” Naru asked from behind her. He was already carrying the few monitors that would be used in the preliminary investigation. He gave them his “You’re all useless.” smile as they turned to him.

“—how much we missed you,” came Yasuhara’s save.

“You do not seem to miss the physical labor, though, given that you are all just standing like you are in charge.” He left the statement hanging in the air as he walked towards the house.

The other four looked at each other guiltily, carrying the remaining cables and shelves in the van. “ _Sorry, Boss_.”

* * *

“Can anyone hear me?”

“Yup, loud and clear,” Mai answered absently. They had finished setting up base in one of the second floor guest rooms as well as the other equipment throughout the house, so she started recording temperature readings in the other rooms. “What’s up?”

When no one answered, she looked up to find that she was alone. Well, maybe not, because the sensation of being watched slowly intensified. Shrugging the creepy feeling off, she looked at the temperature: seventeen degrees Celsius. “Huh? But it was twenty-one degrees during the first and second reading…”

She started shivering at the realization of the temperature drop.

Her walkie-talkie buzzed with Naru’s voice. “Mai. The room you are in is colder by four degrees. Get out of there for now.” She did not waste time leaving.

But the eerie feeling and the shivering did not leave her as she proceeded to another room. And another. And another. “Seventeen degrees, seventeen degrees, seventeen degrees. This is weird. All the rooms before that certain room read twenty-one degrees. What do you think this means?” she asked through the walkie-talkie.

“It means you are being followed,” was the simple response.

“Th-Then what do I do?” Her voice had lowered to a whisper, as if she feared being overheard. With her voice hushed, the silence of her part of the house finally registered and with it the sound of barely audible footsteps on the carpeted hallway coming through the open door behind her. She held her breath as she waited for the silence to be broken by either Naru’s voice or the person who had already stopped walking. The silence was deafening.

One second.

Two seconds.

Three.

Four.

“Tani—!”

“KYAAAAAAAA!!” Mai fell to her knees.

* * *

Noll did not even need the walkie-talkie to hear Mai’s scream and was already halfway out the door when Bou-san’s voice crackled through the device.

“Mai! What’s wrong?! Mai!!”

After a short while, Yasuhara-san’s voice responded. “I’m—” A laugh. “I’m afraid I scared Taniyama-san terribly. She’s on the floor crying and can’t reply at the moment.” In the background, Noll could hear Mai’s sobbing voice telling the part-time receptionist how much of an idiot he was in between hiccups. “There, there, Taniyama-san. I already apologized, didn’t I?” He heard a bit more of crying and apologetic laughing before the line was cut.

Just beyond the walkie-talkie, he saw Lin quietly stifling his chuckle with his fist while watching the monitors. He sighed in exasperation. There were seven billion people in the world plus one in the astral plane, and all he got in his team were the idiots. He grabbed the device.

“Taniyama-san, if you would please do the most basic tasks of an investigator without screaming every so often.”

Right after hearing his commanding request, the walkie-talkie crackled with the girl’s angry reply. “Well, I am deeply sorry for my short display of unprofessionalism. I will try my best to not let it happen again.” Was she trying to be sarcastic? He smirked.

“As you should.”

“You slave-driver!”

“I thought we had already established that.”

“Ugh!!”

* * *

Lin glanced at his charge, who was now studying his reflection with as much of a frustrated look as his face could muster. “ _No word from Gene yet?_ ” he hazarded.

Noll just sighed and approached the surveillance monitors. “ _What of the temperature drops following Mai?_ ”

“The entity causing it seems to have disappeared the moment Yasuhara-san entered the room.”

“Very well. Study the clips of the cameras within the first few rooms wherein Mai felt something. There might be some indication of its presence other than the temperature drop.”

“Understood.”

At this, Noll nodded and held up the walkie-talkie again. “Everyone, please finish up with the readings. Mai, start interviewing Mizuki-san’s parents-in-law afterwards.”

“Roger.”

“Copy that.”

Indeed, Noll did not notice the shifts. Lin smiled thinly. Maybe he could transcribe the dialogues from now on for future entert—reference. Today was more of a field day than field work, it seemed.

* * *

Mai found the elderly couple sitting at the table in the garden. As they were happily chatting, she did not hesitate to approach them.

As if seeing something funny, the elderly woman laughed gently. “Oh, Mi-chan. You always grimace like that when you dislike the tea we give you.”

Mai froze but watched the couple from where she was.

This time, the elderly man chuckled, too. “She’s right, you know? Hah?” He cupped his left ear and leaned toward the empty seat between him and his wife. “I see you talking but ‘seems I can’t hear you today,” he said sadly as he held the teacup between his hands. Then, he and his wife turned towards the empty seat and smiled. Suddenly, they turned towards Mai.

“Oh, my. We did not see you there. Would you like to join us?” the elderly woman asked while the man looked at her expectantly.

Mai smiled nervously but accepted the offer anyway. They seated her on the chair opposite the empty one they said Mi-chan was occupying.

“My name is Mizuki Saeko, and this is my husband, Yoshihiko.” The elderly woman bowed slightly and gestured to the elderly man before her, who also bowed in greeting. Saeko-san poured Mai a cup of tea. “What is your name, dear?”

“I’m Taniyama Mai. Your daughter-in-law Mizu—uh, Eika-san had probably mentioned our arrival…”

“Yes, yes indeed. Did you all come here to see Mi-chan, too?” Yoshihiko-san asked excitedly.

“Y-Yes, we were hoping to see Mi-chan, but…”

“She is over here. I am sure you will get along well. Mi-chan,” Saeko-san turned to the empty chair. “This is Taniyama Mai-san. Do you think you two could be friends?” Apparently seeing a reaction, she chuckled. “Now you fidget? No need to be shy; Taniyama-san seems like a nice girl. Do you think you can show yourself to her? You do not want to? Oh, you cannot? What a shame!” She turned to Mai again with an apologetic smile. “It seems she does not have enough energy to show herself to you. Maybe tonight? –Ah, maybe tonight, she says.”

“So Mi-chan is a girl?” Mai glances at the empty seat with a small quirk of her lips.

“She is, she is!” Yoshihiko-san laughed loudly. “We wouldn’t be calling her Mi-chan if she were a boy, now, would we? Or did you think she was a pet?”

“Ehehe~”

“Come to think of it; she’s about your age, too! Now Mi-chan won’t be so lonely anymore.”

A small chill sprinted down Mai’s spine, barely noticeable, but still felt. Her intuition told her that Mi-chan was not evil, but the direction of her conversation with the elderly couple was a bit unsettling. She decided to start her interview. “When did you meet Mi-chan?”

The couple looked at each other in thought. Saeko-san spoke. “It was right after our son and Eika-san moved in. At first, we were only able to sense her presence; we were admittedly uncomfortable with it, but when we slowly saw her form we realized that she was a girl. We tried communicating with her, as we are doing now, and she seemed to be excited to know that we can see her. There were days when we can hear her voice for a little bit, but there were days when we cannot, like today.” She sighed and Yoshihiko-san reached out to give her hand a gentle squeeze.

Mai smiled sympathetically. Mi-chan really was dear to the couple. Surely it would be sad for them to see her go so soon. “What did she say during the days she could speak with you?”

“She would tell us that she needs our help and mention Eika-san’s name.”

“Eika-san’s?”

“Yes, yes. We don’t really understand it, either, but we see her following our daughter-in-law around before we call out to her.” Yoshihiko-san stroked his silver beard thoughtfully.

“Then, does Eika-san know about this?”

“N-no… We agreed not to tell her because it might affect her pregnancy.”

Mai gasped delightedly. “She’s pregnant?” The couple laughed.

“Yes, yes she is! But it’s still a secret to our son. Shhh.”

Saeko-san gave Mai a bright smile. “Will you help us keep the secret?”

“Of course!”

* * *

When Mai returned to base, the first one to speak up was Ayako, who welcomed Mai with, “Let me guess.”

“You guessed wrong, Matsuzaki-san,” Naru answered before asking Mai for tea.

“Hey! I haven’t even said anything yet!”

Bou-san guffawed.  “Well it’s obvious you’ll say it’s an earth-bound spirit.”

“And you would be wrong, because Mi-chan seems to be attached to Mizuki-san.” Everyone turned to Mai.

“You had finished the interview?”

“Yes, boss. Here’re your tea and notes.”

After explaining to everyone in the base what she had just heard, the team began discussing.

“—What time does Hara-san’s filming end?” Naru asked.

Mai thought for a while. “About eight o’clock in the evening. Should I call her?”

“Call John as well.”

“Yes, Boss.”

“Yasuhara-san.”

The spectacled college student perked up. “ _Yes, Boss?_ ”

Naru blinked for a moment before issuing his order. “ _Please try to research the client’s background._ ” The nagging feeling this morning had come back, but, as it reminded him of his dead twin, he chose to ignore it for now.

“Roger!” With a brief salute, Yasuhara was gone.

The boss then turned to the monk and the miko. “Bou-san, Matsuzaki-san, check again whether you can sense Mi-chan better now that it is night.” The two stood up and left as well. He approached his assistant. “Lin, any sightings or video anomalies?”

“ _I am investigating a speck of light that appeared at 14:36:58 in Camera 4 at the corner of the room._ ”

Mai looked at Lin with a horrified look she tried hard to conceal, which Naru noticed anyway. He turned to her. “ _Yes?_ ”

“Uh… Did… Did an orb really appear in the room?” she asked. Of course, this was not the reason why she was horrified. It was that Lin-san was in on the prank, too. She glanced at the onmyouji; he gave her a slight smile before returning his focus on the monitor he was studying.

“In case you did not hear Lin, it is still under investigation.” Then, Naru turned back to the monitor as well.

With a pouty “F-fine.”, Mai left the room to explore the house.

Despite being a large house, with six bedrooms, six bathrooms, a garage for three cars, and a rather extensive garden at the back, it was well-lit from morning till evening. The front of the house was illuminated by the rising sun, while the backyard by the setting sun and the moon. Large windows and bright LED bulbs were evenly spaced throughout the house, such that there were almost no dark areas where shadows can lurk.

As Mai passed by Eika-san and her husband’s room, she wondered how such a house with a homey, comfortable ambiance could be haunted by a ghost. She shook her head. Rather than the house, it was Eika-san who was haunted. “But why?”

“Why what?”

Mai flinched and saw the haunted woman herself approaching her with a smile. “Good evening, Mizuki-san.”

“Good evening and good work. Please, call me Eika instead. We have four Mizukis in the house, after all.” They both giggled. “Have you guys settled already? I’m sorry I wasn’t able to accompany you on the way back due to work.”

“Yes, everything had already been set up. We’ve already interviewed your parents as well. Right now we’re just observing the house and looking for any disturbances. Also, we called in the two others who were with us during your consultation to better understand what’s happening. Those two can communicate with Mi-chan better than the rest of the team, so…”

Eika-san waved her hand. “Oh, that’s no problem. I’m sure it’s much merrier now that we have guests. My parents-in-law would appreciate it, too, since my husband is on a business trip. It has been a bit lonely,” she admitted with a shy chuckle.

Mai grinned. “Then we’d better make it a little noisy!”

“Yes, please!”

“By the way, I’m very sorry for our boss’s behavior during the consultation.” Mai bowed. “My teammate, Takigawa-san, was just teasing him into speaking in English. I’m sorry if we unintentionally forced you to do so, too.”

Eika-san laughed lightly at the young woman’s guilty face. “You don’t have to worry about that, Taniyama-san—” When Mai gestured to be called by first name, she continued, “—Mai-san; I went to a university in America, so I’m quite fluent at it.”

“I see. That’s why you had no problem explaining to our boss in English. I was really surprised when you changed the language completely—it was so impressive!”

The older woman giggled again. “Because you’re so sweet, I’ll make a delicious dinner tonight. Dinner will be ready in a little while!”

“I’m looking forward to it!”

After Eika-san had turned the corner, Mai felt the chill which got her shivering that afternoon.

“You can hear me, right?” It was the same disembodied voice she had heard earlier.

“Y-Yeah, I can hear you,” she replied shakily. “What’s up?”

“Please help me.”

“How can I help?” she asked, but the chill and the voice had already faded. “Mi-chan…” she called out softly.

* * *

At eight-fifteen and shortly after eight-thirty, John and Masako arrived, respectively.

“There is a spirit wandering in this house. A young woman.” The medium said the moment she stepped foot inside the base.

“Is it evil?” Naru began, and the interrogation started.

“No; it is sad, however. Very sad. Sorrow and regret bind her here.”

“There is no need for exorcism?”

“None. I believe I can talk to her and help her cross over. I do not understand why you even brought them here.” Masako glanced at Bou-san and Ayako.

“W-Well, whether you like it or not, Masako-chan, we’re already here. We might as well stay till the end. Right, Ayako?” Bou-san nudged the redhead on the side, which she ignored.

The young woman huffed in response, so the monk just shrugged.

“Now, now, you two… Why don’t we all let Hara-san cleanse the spirit so Mizuki-san and her family can live in peace?” John attempted to appease Bou-san and Masako.

“He is right. Whenever you are ready, Hara-san.” The boss closed his notebook. “Mai—” A teacup was suddenly proffered to him. He looked up at the server.

Mai returned his gaze, beaming. “Precognition.”

“Oh? And pray tell, Taniyama-san, what the difference between precognition and clairvoyance is.” Naru asked, smirking at her thinking face before taking a sip of his tea.

“Hmm… They’re both forms of ESP, but they’re actually very different. Clairvoyance is knowing things about objects, people, events, and the like, while precognition is being able to foretell future events.” Mai nodded, satisfied with her answer. “That’s why it’s through precognition that I knew you were going to ask for tea.”

He put down his teacup on the monitoring desk and looked at her with a small, amused smile. “Or simply through inductive reasoning.”

She laughed sheepishly. “Or that, too. Ehehe~”

Bou-san let out a cough, which multiplied when Ayako, cheeks tinged with pink, elbowed his stomach.

Masako turned her head away haughtily. “If Mai and Naru do not mind, I am ready to cleanse the spirit now.”

Naru stood up, ready to go. “Where is it right now?”

“At the first floor, in the room farthest from the staircase.”

“That would be the kitchen,” Lin supplemented, and with that, the rest of the team headed there.

“What time did shounen say he would get here?”

“He said he’ll be here at nine o’clock. You’re missing him already, Bou-san?” Mai poked the monk’s arm in jest as they went down the stairs.

“Urk. I was just asking.”

The team found Eika-san preparing dinner with her mother-in-law in the kitchen.

“We’re sorry for bothering you.” Mai started. “The medium in our team sensed that Mi-chan is here…”

“Why, you are quite right.” Saeko-san said in mild surprise. “Mi-chan is sitting over there.” She pointed at a bar chair that had been pulled out from under the mini-bar counter and was facing where the two women were working.

Eika-san visibly shuddered when she noticed this, obviously unaware that the chair had moved. “S-Since when…?”

“Eh? She was already there when I came to help you.”

Eika stared at her mother-in-law in horror, her anxiety levels already rising, when a small, warm hand patted her shoulder. She turned to see SPR’s medium, whom Mai-san was talking about, smiling gently at her. She felt herself calming down as she returned the young woman’s smile. Together with everyone in the room, she watched the medium approach the seemingly empty chair and held her breath.

Masako closed her eyes for a moment, and when she opened them, her aura seemed to have changed. She talked softly to the ghost in the chair. “Are you the girl they call Mi-chan?” She paused as she waited for an answer. “Are you aware that you have already passed on?” She paused again. “I have felt the sorrow and regret that had gripped your heart for a long time, and I want to help you let go of that so you can rest in peace.”

“No!”

The lights began to flicker. After a short while, light scratches were heard throughout the room, which grew louder as knocking sounds began their rhythmless dance across everything made of wood.

A cry.

“Masako!” Mai sprinted to catch her friend, who had been thrown to the other side of the kitchen. She felt the impact of the medium’s body as she stopped its movement, but the momentum was transferred to her and she fell backward. The sharp pain at the back of her head was the last thing she remembered before darkness swallowed her.

* * *

Mai was still surrounded by darkness when she opened her eyes, only this one was pierced with softly glowing orbs. It was a nostalgic sight, something that made her heart swell and crushed it at the same time. This was where she first met him.

“Gene…” she whispered his name, as if she was afraid that calling out to him would cause him to disappear and leave her all alone in the midst of millions of souls.

It was a breathy utterance, but Eugene heard her anyway. “Mai. Over here.”

She followed his voice and found him kneeling beside something. When she finally reached him, she saw that the something was actually a someone, a skinny young woman who was about their age, hugging her knees and weeping. She sat beside the girl.

“I’m Mai. What’s your name?” she asked kindly. This must be the Mi-chan the elderly Mizuki couple were talking about.

The girl looked up at her tearfully. “Please call me Mina, or Mi-chan, as Saeko-san and Yoshihiko-san call me.”

“Mina-chan, huh.” Mai smiled. “What a cute name!”

Mina-chan mirrored the other girl’s smile and began wiping her tears. “Th-Thank you, Mai-chan.” She sniffled as more tears rolled down her cheeks.

Mai put a reassuring hand on Mina-chan’s back. While waiting for the crying girl to calm down, she turned to the person who had remained silent during the conversation. Upon catching Gene’s gaze, she shot him a questioning look, to which he only responded with a sad smile and a slight jerk of the head towards Mina-chan. She had to ask the girl herself.

“Mina-chan,” Mai called gently. “You were calling out to me a while ago, saying that you need help. Is that the reason why you don’t want to cross over yet?”

The other girl nodded.

“Won’t you help me understand?”

Again, Mina-chan nodded. This time, she intertwined her fingers with Mai’s and directly replied in Mai’s mind, “Let me show you instead.”

* * *

She was Mina Hoshino, younger sister to Eika Hoshino.

They stood hand in hand in front of two black coffins, unable to register the condolences and sympathetic pats on the shoulders that they were getting. All they were able to understand was that they were sisters with no grandparents and now without parents, and all they had was each other. Their grips on each other tightened—a vow to never let each other go. She was twelve and her sister, fifteen.

For the next few years, they were able to live off of their parents' remaining money as well as the help that came from their distant relatives, but the funds eventually dwindled and the graciousness of their relatives had spread thin. At eighteen, her elder sister was granted a prestigious scholarship in an American university, which she knew the former had decided to give up for early employment in order to support her education instead. She knew very well how decisive her sister was and how hard it was to change her mind, but she also knew how much her sister worked hard for and wanted to be granted the scholarship, so she turned to her last resort: if she fought with her sister, if she ran away, her sister will not have any other person to worry about. And so, at fifteen, she left home.

She did not know whether or not her plan worked. With too much customers demanding a wide array of cocktails and not much time to wonder, all she was able to do was hope that it did. In the end, she did not have even the time to hope. She was bashed in the head by a baseball bat when she tried to stop two delinquents who were fighting in front of the bar she worked at. Lying on the ground, she saw the other delinquent frantically calling for an ambulance and the young man who hit her kneeling beside her, begging for forgiveness and assuring her that help was coming. At this, she just laughed weakly and stated how glad she was that the skirmish had not turned into a full-blown gang war, in which much more people will get hurt and possibly die. With much regret, guilt, and longing, her last words were, “I’m sorry, Eika-nee-chan.” Her life slipped away just as the paramedics arrived.

One year passed. Then two. Then many more. And all those years, she was not able to reach out to her sister no matter how close she was. She watched her succeed and fail, fall in love and out of it, hurt and be hurt. But watch was all she could do. Even when her sister met her brother-in-law and when they got married, she had remained a bystander, always watching from the other side. But, at least, she knew that she had made the right decision. Now, she just needed to step into the light-filled gateway so she could cross over. And yet, she could not.

When her sister and her brother-in-law moved into their parents’ house, she found hope. Since the older couple could see her, she tried to communicate with them, to tell them who she was and what she wanted to tell her elder sister before she left for good. Kind as they were and as much as she enjoyed their company, though, they did not understand her messages.

“Mai.”

After countless years of calling out, she found someone else who could somehow hear her. The girl had chestnut shoulder-length hair and a friendly aura. But her energy to call out was weakening. The girl seemed to be willing to help—please help!

“Mai!”

A medium arrived and gently urged her to cross over. No! Not yet!! Eika-nee-chan!!

“MAI!!”

* * *

Mai felt like she had been slapped into another nationality.

“MA—!!”

“I’m awake! Gosh, don’t slap me a second time! I’ll turn British!” she screamed. As the sting in her cheek subsided and her eyes adjusted to the light, she realized that she was on a bed, with everyone crowding around her.

“Wh-What are you saying, you idiot?” Ayako, the mother-slapper of the team, scoffed through her tears as she helped the girl sit up.

“See? She’s fine! There was no need to worry!” Yasuhara said in between fits of laughter. Bou-san just guffawed, his worry slapped away together with Mai’s unconsciousness.

John merely sighed in relief. “I’m glad you’re awake and safe, Mai-san.”

Mai stretched her arm to scratch the back of her head and immediately felt a bandage wrapped around her head. “Ugh, so the costume theme for this case is mummification?” She hiccupped; everybody became quiet.

“Jou-chan…” Bou-san reached out to gently pat her bandaged head. The latent psychic, suddenly wracked with sorrow, was now weeping into her hands.

Masako sat on her bedside and soothingly rubbed her back.

A long, heavy silence hung over the room.

“She-She was just like… him,” Mai sobbed. “Just like Gene, Na—!” The sudden appearance of a steaming cup of tea in front of her face stopped her tears and words altogether. Her eyes looked at the tea, the hand holding it, the arm connecting the hand to the body, then the slap-worthy smug face of her boss.

“Precognition.”

“…That’s plagiarism.” Mai wiped her tears and blew her nose with the tissue Masako offered her before accepting the tea. “You don’t even have that kind of psychic power… But I’ll let you off this time,” she said as thanks. The rest of the team had decided to wait for her to finish her tea before bringing up the topic again, but Mai beat them to it. A long, shaky sigh escaped her lips. “I met her. Mina-chan. She was in the astral plane with Gene…” She paused for a moment. “She showed me why she can’t go yet.”

“Was Mizuki Eika-san really her sister?” Yasuhara confirmed.

“Y-Yeah. You were able to research that, too? Mina-chan had run away from home. No one found her, not even at her death…” Her tears spilled again. “Mina-chan just wanted to apologize and say goodbye to Eika-san. That’s all she hung around for.”

Another sad silence blanketed the room.

“…I understand.” It was Masako who broke it this time. She held Mai’s shoulder. “Mai, everyone, I have an idea.”

* * *

Eika admittedly did not understand why SPR had asked her and her in-laws to sit across from their medium. Were they able to discover who or what was haunting her parents-in-law? Will they be okay now? She fought the urge to sigh. By this time, the team had finished closing all the other light sources in the house except for the thick candle on the living room table. On her right, she saw the boss and his tall investigator standing by a camera directed at them. Behind the two men, the rest of SPR leaned on or stood by the wall, watching them solemnly.

Shibuya-san began to speak. “Before you is the spirit of Mi-chan being channeled by Hara-san.” He turned to the medium. “Are you whom they call Mi-chan?” She nodded. “Then, please start by stating your name.”

Eika watched the medium move, and she had the impression that the latter somehow had a different demeanor. Then, the young woman in kimono opened her mouth to speak. “My name is Hoshino Mina. Born 22 March 19XX, in Chiba prefecture.”

Eika started. “Wh-What’s the meaning of this…?!”

Hara-san—no, Mina looked tearfully at her. “It’s been a while, Eika-nee-chan.”

“…Mina…?” The heavy reality of her younger sister’s death had her trembling with grief. “Why… How could you be—?!” she cried. Saeko-san held her hand. The mother-in-law was just as shocked.

“I… died two years after I left you. But that’s not why I’m here—why I’m still here. Please listen, Nee-chan.

“Remember our promise to not leave each other alone? I’m so sorry I broke that promise. You can break my pinky in the afterlife when we meet again.” Both sisters giggled despite their tears. “I’m sorry I started a fight with you that night. I needed a reason to leave because I wanted you to think of yourself more. If I left, you wouldn’t have to worry about sacrificing your dreams, and I didn’t want you to give up that scholarship. I didn’t mean a thing I said back then. I appreciate everything you did for me, and I love you for everything. I’m sorry for lying about all of these.”

Mina looked at Eika for approval to continue. When the elder sister nodded, “I was overjoyed when I learned that you accepted it, after all, because it meant I was able to do something for you in return.” Mina smiled when her sister cried harder as she shook her head vigorously. “I only stayed so that I could say all these things to you, to let you understand how much I love you and Tou-chan and Kaa-chan and how much I’m grateful for all you’ve done for me.”

The candle flickered, and Mina took this as a sign that her time was nearing its end. She stood up and performed a graceful dogeza. “Eika-nee-chan, please forgive me for leaving you alone in the world so soon. Thank you for being the best sister I could ever have. And most importantly, the three of us will always love you. We will watch over you, Nii-chan, Saeko-san, Yoshihiko-san…” At this, she looked at the elderly couple with much gratitude. “And your baby. I’m sure it’s a girl. I hope you could tell her about your other family from time to time.”

Eika knelt on the floor with her sister to lock her in a tight, tearful embrace, twelve years in coming.

“I’m sorry, too, Mina. I’m really sorry for neglecting you. Thank you for watching over me.” Eika inhaled sharply. “Please continue to watch over us with Tou-san and Kaa-san, okay? Can you promise me that?”

Mina nodded without letting go of her sister. “Mm. I promise. In return, you have to promise to live a long, happy life for us.”

“I p-promise,” Eika sobbed.

“I love you, Eika-nee-chan.”

“I love you, too, Mina.”

A gentle, golden light briefly surrounded Mina’s body, and then she was gone; Eika was now holding up the medium, Hara-san, who was unconscious. She hugged the young woman.

“Thank you. All of you.”

From behind the camera, Mai-san had a gentle expression on her face. “We should give Masako a pat on the back when she wakes up,” she told her teammates, who all agreed with a smile.

* * *

Bou-san leaned back on the sofa and stretched either arm behind Yasuhara and Mai. They had just returned from the residence of the Mizukis, who sent them off with heartfelt, if not tear-filled, thanks. “I’m beat,” he whined, earning disbelieving stares from most of the team. ‘The team’, of course, excluded foreign, still workaholic men.

“You didn’t even do anything, Bou-san!” Mai scolded. Bou-san just let out a boisterous laugh.

“Indeed. The spotlight this time is on Hara-san and Taniyama-san.” Yasuhara smiled towards the young women.

“Ehehe~” Mai scratched her head while laughing.

“Mai,” Masako called. “I never got to thank you for saving me again. Thank you.” The kimono-clad medium gave her friend a small smile that Mai returned with a bigger one.

“Come to think of it. We’ve never heard Masako speak in English, have we?” All eyes shifted to the medium who merely covered her face with a sleeve and turned away. Bou-san leaned forward. “You three, too.” He nodded at Mai, Ayako, and John. The three gulped audibly but did not meet his gaze either.

“Why don’t we talk in English for the rest of the day while we’re at it?” Yasuhara suggested. He and the monk shared a knowing glance and grinned.

Ayako crossed her arms. “Wh-What’s in it for us? We’ll all just sound stupid.”

“Oya? What’s this? The miko admits she’s stupid?” Bou-san teased. “That’s rare.”

“ _Won’t you wipe that smug look off your face! For all I know, I speak better than you!_ ”

“And she’s right.” Yasuhara nodded. His partner-in-crime shot him a wounded look screaming betrayal. He chuckled good-naturedly. “I can’t lie, Takigawa-san.”

“W-Well, what about Masako?”

“ _I am confident that I speak better than you three._ ”

“And you’re wrong, Masako.” Mai imitated her fellow part-timer. “Yasuhara-san’s still better.” She giggled when the latter bowed to her as the medium huffed. “I bet even John’s better than you four.”

“Uhh, obviously? He’s from Australia, remember? Or do you have Alzheimer’s disease?” Ayako retorted.

“Alzhei—! I’m not an old lady like you are!”

“It doesn’t look like it.”

“It does, too!”

“ _P-Please don’t foight, yoo tew._ ” All heads swiveled to the priest, who was seriously worried that an argument would ensue. But instead of shouting in anger, his companions shouted in utter hilarity. He tilted his head in confusion.

“B-Brown-san really is the best!” Yasuhara managed to choke out. “S-Sorry for laughing, but—” Another wave of laughter came from everyone.

Mai just kept slapping Bou-san’s arm as Ayako threw her head back and cackled. Masako was laughing so hard she forgot to properly cover her face.

“It’s as peculiar as your Kansai-ben, John!” Ayako, done laughing, finally said. When she noticed the tall figure just outside the door to the resource room, she added, “What do you think, Lin-san?”

Lin, caught laughing quietly into his fist, answered with a thin smile, “ _It is quite different from what I am used to hearing._ ”

“U-Uohh…” Everyone gazed at him in awe. In the reverent silence they offered the Englishman, they heard the door to the president’s office open to produce their boss.

“ _Boss._ ” They acknowledged his presence.

Naru looked severely at his part-timers. “ _I believe I pay you two to entertain clients, not people who seem to think that the office is a café._ ”

“ _But Boss, we find it highly amusing to hear how fluent all of us are in English,_ ” Yasuhara replied with his brightest smile, which the others supplemented with their own.

“ _I see no reason for—_ ” The black-suited young man halted. He looked at his beaming team sitting at the couches and then at Lin, who shot him a small, apologetic smile.

Everyone shuddered as the room temperature seemed to drop by a few degrees.

* * *

Noll gave them his iciest, at the same time most heated, glare yet. That was it, that nagging feeling that had been bothering him since yesterday. It was not Gene; it was the shift in languages. The fact that he had failed to notice it the first time and let Yasuhara-san and Bou-san have a field day with it greatly irked him. Surely it stemmed from the exhaustion from waiting for his twin to wake up.

So it was still Gene’s fault, after all. That useless idiot.

“B-By the way, we haven’t heard you yet, Mai.” When he directed his glare at the monk, the latter raised his hands. “She’s the only one we haven’t heard yet…”

“C-Can’t I pass?” Mai pleaded. “I’m… so bad at it that when I’m called to recite in class they all just gape at me. Really gape at me,” she added for emphasis before looking at her knees.

Bou-san ruffled her hair. “Aww, jou-chan. It’s alright, no one’s gonna laugh at you here. Right?” The others nodded seriously. Noll chose to remain silent as well.

The girl took a deep breath to restrain the blush that was already tinging her cheeks. “Then, here I go.” She inhaled. “ _Wh-Why don’t we all have lunch together? It’s been a while since we last did._ ” At a lack of the reaction she was expecting, she looked up in confusion. Just like her classmates and English teacher, almost everyone gaped at her. “ _What? It’s that bad?_ ” She looked at Noll expectantly, but he merely raised his eyebrows at her.

“Taniyama-san…” Yasuhara-san began with wonder in his voice. He suddenly stood up, rummaged through the bag on his desk, and displaced the monk by sitting down next to Mai. “I’m sorry, but I didn’t quite hear what you just said.” He adjusted his spectacles before holding up his phone to his fellow part-timer. “Could you please repeat everything?”

“Oi, shounen… why is your phone on voice record?” Bou-san whispered suspiciously. He most definitely did not miss that glint in the part-time receptionist’s glasses.

“Hmm? Whatever are you talking about, Takigawa-san?” The younger man replied with such a conniving grin that the monk just backed off. After Mai finished reiterating her invitation to lunch, he added, “Next, please say, ‘ _Would you like a cuppa?_ ’”

As Mai was still confused, she did not see what her fellow part-timer wanted to do. With knitted eyebrows, she did as she was told. “ _Would you like a cuppa?_ ”

“‘ _Yes, dear. That’d be lovely._ ’”

“ _Yes, dear. That’d be lovely._ ”

“‘ _My boss is a wanker._ ’”

“ _My boss is a wanker._ ” The blush that had faded rushed back in full force as Mai realized what she had just said. “Yasuhara-san, how could you—!!”

“‘ _Shut up, you bloody twit!_ ’” Yasuhara-san just kept on going.

“ _Shut up, you bloody twit!_ ” Mai gasped in horror. “Yasu—”

“‘ _Blimey! Are you all right?_ ’”

“ _Yes, I’m quite fine, but—_ ”

“That’s enough. Thank you, Taniyama-san.”

“…Ugh…” Mai almost knelt on the floor on all fours. She was completely helpless against Yasuhara-san’s blinding smile that did not dim even as he said all those insulting words.

Noll sighed at the stupidity he had the misfortune to witness. He was about to voice out his thoughts when the figure reflected in the glass of a cabinet at his left diverted his attention from the farce before him. His exasperation then intensified tenfold. Gene stood on the other side of the glass, giving him a thumbs up. The smirk on his face was not unlike Noll’s trademark ones. Well, they did impersonate each other until a few years ago; he had enough practice.

_‘You had many other opportunities to show yourself, yet you chose to appear now.’_

_‘She has xenoglossy, too, Noll.’_

_‘How did you find out?’_

_‘I once slipped and spoke in English, but she just continued conversing with me like nothing happened. I was really shocked.’_ Gene gave him a sincere smile. _‘I’ve been using English since then. It reminded me of home.’_

The feeling of loneliness flitted in Noll’s mind. He studied his brother.

And then, Gene smirked again. ‘ _Well, at least she won’t have any trouble talking with Luella and Martin now.’_

_‘—What?’_

_‘I’m feeling sleepy again…’_ Gene’s voice grew muffled. _‘See you, Noll.’_ With one last smile, his reflection faded, and Noll was suddenly looking at his own frowning face. He heard Mai gasp.

“A British accent? Really?! Are you sure, Ayako, Yasuhara-san?!” As he tuned back into the conversation in the room, he noticed that Mai’s disappointed mood had changed to excitement in the short time he talked with his brother.

“For the seventh time, yes!” Matsuzaki-san griped. “It’s unbelievable how you never even noticed.”

“ _Oh my goodness! I can’t believe it!!_ ”

The others laughed.

“Shut up already!”

“ _Oh, darling, I would never shut up!_ ”

Noll sighed again. He knew for a fact that Mai would keep her word.

* * *

Mai raised both arms and stretched after she finished organizing the latest case file. The irregulars and her fellow part-timer had left hours ago, and now the afternoon sun was about to leave as well.

Her eyes wandered the office. It had been different when Mori-san substituted for Naru. Though the office did not receive many requests in the two months under Mori-san, all the cases they did have were reviewed in full detail. The temporary boss kindly and patiently explained everything that the new investigator might have missed. Mai learned what each equipment did, which ones to use on which situation, how to best utilize each, what kind of data each one produced, and how to interpret the obtained data. It really felt like a two-month crash course on paranormal research, without the crash from information overload that Naru made sure to give when enlightening her.

Irk bubbled in her chest, causing her to huff. But she shook her annoyance off with her head and focused instead on her gratitude to Naru's and, to a certain extent, her teacher. She missed the woman already. Hmm... Maybe an email was enough to take care of that.

In the meantime, she opened her notebook to review the case and add some of her thoughts.

After Mina-chan had crossed over and Masako had been lain on a bed, the others filled all the holes in the sisters' story.

Eika Hoshino and her younger sister Mina were orphaned during a terrorist attack. Their parents had visited the United States to carry out the will of a late relative. It was the first time that the family of four did not travel together. Sadly, it was the last one as well. The Hoshino couple, riding a cab to their destination, were caught in the storm of concrete rubble as two buildings collapsed onto themselves and their neighbors.

The elder Hoshino sister wanted to go with the younger one to the country where their parents died to visit the memorial that honored their lives and unfair deaths, but she knew that they had no money to do so. Thus, Eika decided to apply for a scholarship in one of the top universities in the States. She knew that if she saved enough money, she would be able to buy a two-way flight for Mina and they could pay homage to their parents. But when they realized that they had already spent what remaining money they had, Eika chose to give up the scholarship and work in a company instead.

She was surprised and mildly angered, therefore, to see Mina enraged at her decision. Eika was only trying to keep the remnants of their family financially afloat; someone had to work, and her younger sister surely was not old enough for permanent employment. If they were to wait another three years for Mina to graduate, who knew what would happen? Their heated argument flared into a fight, until Mina gave her sister an ultimatum: either Eika will take the scholarship while Mina waits for her and takes part-time jobs to help with the bills, or she will become a company employee and shoulder everything but without a younger sister to support. Eika merely said she would sleep on it and give her decision the next day. Mina merely smiled dejectedly. That was the last time they saw each other.

Eika took the scholarship after much convincing by distant relatives with the assurance that they will look for Mina and take care of her. But the younger Hoshino sister was never found.

Mina, meanwhile, found work at a bar in Kabukichou. She had been staying there for two years when two young men from rival gangs started fighting in front of her workplace. And then…

The memories that Mina had shared with Mai resurfaced.

* * *

Noll reached for the teacup on his right only to find it empty. How much time had passed? He glanced at the digital clock in his laptop. Apparently, much too long. Time really did fly when one was busy raising his IQ back to its original level after overexposure to idiots. But he was relieved to know that he had succeeded, given the progress on his treatise. It warranted for a fresh cup of tea.

He pressed his lips together as he began to utter his part-time investigator’s name but stopped. He did not know whether the girl was still outside; he was too focused on his thoughts that he would not have heard her calling out her departure, if she really had left. Briefly caught between conserving energy and expending it, he sighed as he chose the latter. He had yet to review the latest case, so he might as well do it while waiting for the water to boil and the tea to steep.

When he stepped into the reception, however, he regretted his decision.

Mai was still here, after all, sitting at her desk. From the pink notebook spread on her table and her hand frozen mid-writing, she had been studying. But now, in the dim light of the setting sun, he saw that her face was glistening with what he deduced were tears. Caught again in a dilemma of staying and returning to his office, Noll chose the former this time. He softly closed the door behind him.

The steady flow of tears coming from the girl’s eyes gradually stopped as the sound began to register in her mind.

“ _Naru…?_ ” Mai wiped her tears. “ _I didn’t see you there. Did you want tea? Wait a bit._ ” She stood up and headed to the kitchenette before he could answer. He sat on the couch and waited.

After a few minutes, she appeared from behind the divider with two cups of tea, one of which she handed to him. They drank in silence as Noll had nothing to say and Mai was not ready to break it, not when teardrops had started rolling down her cheeks once more.

Eventually, Mai let out a shaky sigh.

“ _I’m sorry._ ”

“ _You really did not shut up,_ ” he replied.

* * *

Mai chuckled while brushing off the last of her tears. She repeated the words Naru had told her yesterday: “ _I thought we had already established that._ ”, and grinned at the slight quirk of his lips that she knew indicated his amusement.

It suddenly occurred to her how much she had come to understand Naru in the eighteen months they had known each other. She watched him in quiet contemplation. Now that she thought about it, she knew a lot about him.

She knew that he was not a cold, heartless jerk like she always accused when he annoyed her. That his poker face did not reflect what he thought and felt because despite his highly superior intelligence and looks, he was still very much human, and whether he realized it or not, he cared for others as much as any normal person would, if not more.

She learned much more when Mori-san took over the office, and she saw him in a completely new light when the two months were over.

For example, Naru’s snarky sarcasm had drastically worsened in Japan; he was simply grumpy and mildly sarcastic back in England, which was why Mori-san was surprised to see him behaving the way he did. She had heard from the temporary boss that Naru used to be constantly teased by his brother and Mori-san herself. Mai surmised that he thought it pointless to talk back at them since he would not win, given that it was those two, and that because he was the boss here, he was free to be as sardonic as he wanted. The thought tickled the little gray cells in her brain. Her boss may not be a cold, heartless jerk, but he was a jerk nonetheless.

Naru was also not as narcissistic as he let the team believe. He might have just let their imaginations run free in order to distract them from the true meaning of his name and because it was bothersome to correct, but in reality, he usually left the spotlight to Gene and preferred to stand in the shadows. In the first place, what kind of narcissist would divert a straightforward love confession to his twin? How can someone who had become used to being the second choice be called a narcissist? While Mai felt grateful that she had been given the opportunity to think things through, she felt incredibly guilty and sorry for him even if he had said that he liked the peace and quiet of being alone.

But Mai’s most disliked, at the same time favorite, fact about Naru was that he was actually very lazy when it came to things not paranormal. In short, the normal things. He could not be bothered to know or do something he did not need to, and he often shoved the task to someone else. But while he was quick to say no, he was oftentimes also quick to give in with just a little push. Sometimes, he could go way out of his way or risk his own safety for others’ sake, and this was why Mai liked this fact so much. It was the telltale sign of Naru’s silent kindness.

After all, he would not be sitting there across from her if he was otherwise.

Mai smiled. She knew him; she knew that he would stay with her while he finished his tea, that he would listen to her, that he would be the harsh but necessary logic that would calm her turbulent feelings. Sadness tinged her smile as she steeled herself to speak.

“ _Mina-chan, she’s… She’s just like Gene…_ ” she began. Naru quietly looked at her; she continued, “ _Their lives were cut too short when they had so much left to do and so much to say and so much of life to experience. It’s so unfair._ ” The threat of tears pricked her eyes, and she rubbed them furiously to stop any from coming out.

“ _There is no such thing as fair or unfair in this world; fairness and unfairness are subjective. They both simply drew the short end of the stick._ ”

“ _I know that. But still I can’t help feeling that it’s unfair._ ” She paused, growing more and more upset with each silent second. _“Even after dying, they had to go through so much just to contact the one person they wanted to talk to. They—he waited for so long and I should’ve noticed the moment he reached out to me.”_ Her eyes started to lose their focus, and she heard herself talking faster and louder in frustration at herself. _“I should’ve swallowed my pride or embarrassment or whatever that time and told you about that first dream. I should’ve known he wasn’t you. I should’ve doubted his identity and asked who he was first instead of assuming. It’s all my faul—_ ”

“ _Mai!_ ” Naru’s severe voice cut through hers. She looked up when she came back to her senses and realized that she had been crying again.

“ _I-I’m sorr—_ ” she sobbed into her hands.

Naru remained quiet as she cried all her frustration and grief out. It was not until she had dried her tears that he spoke once more.

“ _Gene’s death was his own fault._ ”

She looked at him in disbelief. “ _You’re still so indifferent to your brother._ ” He just shrugged.

“ _If he had waited for a few months, we would have gone to Japan anyway. Now he is dead and he says he cannot cross over?_ ” He shook his head in annoyance. “ _What an idiot._ ” She huffed and shook her head disapprovingly.

After a short silence, he said, “ _In the end, our souls are just collections of data stored within the spirit—_ ”

“ _Wait a minute. Souls and spirits are different?_ ” Mai interjected curiously. She chose to ignore the small sigh from her boss.

“ _In the basic sense, a_ _ll things, living or not, contain spirits. A spirit works as some kind of memory drive that has the ability to store and project information. For an object, information can consist of the physical properties like color, state, chemical composition, and motion. It can also consist of details of certain events or, if a person is fond of that object, details about that person._ ” He paused, and she took the time to let everything sink in. When she nodded, he continued, “ _Humans have what you call psyche, which is the collection of data, in the form of electrical impulses, that have been processed by the brain. Which pieces of information are collected and which ones are discarded depend on how a person was conceived and raised._ ”

“ _A person’s ‘nature’ and ‘nurture’?_ ”

“ _Correct. Those influence how a person perceives the world. There are countless ways of organizing the data a person collects. For example, if you were given ten numbered white balls and ten numbered black ones and you could only bring three, how many possible combinations can you make?_ ”

“ _Hmm… twenty factorial over seventeen factorial… Six thousand—_ ”

“ _—Eight hundred and forty._ ”

Mai pouted. “ _Yeah, I solved it, too. Thanks very much…_ ” she grouched.

Naru merely smirked. “ _Well done, then. Now, imagine if you had an infinite amount of information that you could store in your brain, which can only keep and process a limited amount. That is the source of infinite personalities and thought processes—the uniqueness of one person._ ”

“ _Then, what’s a soul?_ ”

“ _A spirit imprinted with a person’s psyche._ ”

Mai hummed in understanding.

* * *

It was not in Lin’s nature to eavesdrop on others’ conversations. But he was about to open his door to fetch a glass of water when he heard Taniyama-san and Noll’s discussion, and he admittedly found it interesting. It was probably from the treatise Noll was writing.

When he saw his phone light up, he went back to his desk to check it. Yasuhara-san sent him a message asking about the schedule of everyone in the office for the next day. The younger man might be late due to a seminar and would appreciate it if someone in the office would be there when he arrived. Lin checked his and Noll’s schedules then Taniyama-san’s and Takahashi-san’s shifts before replying that only he and Noll would be in the office tomorrow. He debated on whether to return to where he was standing near his door or to go back to his work instead. In the end, he chose to keep working. The conversation outside was a private one for two people, and he was not one of those.

* * *

“ _Naru, what about Gene?_ ” Mai asked. She had long ago leaned forward as the topic moved from spirits and souls to ghosts, possession, and PK.

“ _What about him?_ ”

“ _What stops him from crossing over?_ ”

Naru fell into a thoughtful silence. Mai had expected him to answer quickly, but after five minutes and counting—she had been keeping track with the digital clock behind him—he was still unable to find a reply.

The clock blinked more minutes away.

Just when she thought he would not reply for a few more minutes, he suddenly did.

“ _It… may be because something is holding him back. His own psyche, perhaps, or…_ ” he trailed off, but she knew what he wanted to say.

‘ _Or mine._ ’

She smiled softly. See? He still worried about Gene, after all.

* * *

Noll had been watching Mai’s reactions the whole time. More than half an hour ago, she had been crying nonstop about those who had passed on. Then, she had been slightly miffed at his indifference to Gene. By the time he started discussing a part of his treatise, she had completely forgotten about the sorrow that almost engulfed her fifteen minutes prior. Now, it was obvious that she was feeling much better.

“ _Would you like more tea, Naru? I could make some more,_ ” she offered as she stood up, ready to head for the kitchenette again.

“ _You speak English just fine, and you still call me that?_ ”

The girl tilted her head. “ _Huh? Call you ‘Naru’? But that’s your name, right?_ ”

He stared blankly at her until her cheeks turned red in realization.

“ _Y-You mean… call you the way Gene does…?_ ”

“ _You have been calling me that since day one; what difference would it make by pronouncing it correctly?_ ”

“ _B-But— Okay… Th-Then…_ ” she briefly hesitated. “ _Would you like more tea… Noll?_ ”

Noll gave her a smile as he, too, stood up and walked towards his office. “ _Yes, please. In my office._ ” He did not need to turn back and look at his part-time investigator to know what her reaction was.

The sigh that escaped his lips after closing the door behind him was long and heavy, though it was not laden with annoyance or surrender like usual. He felt his chest deflate as the sigh almost emptied his lungs, leaving only the bare minimum amount of air, but when he breathed in, he felt a little more whole. He set to continue his work.

* * *

Mai propped her elbows on her desk and rested her head on her hands. It had been two days since the quick Hoshino case, and business had returned to its usual pace: very slow. She blew a few strands of her bangs from her face. She was dying of boredom.

She looked at her fellow part-timer, who was looking at the books sorted carefully by yours truly. He did not seem to be bored at all; if anything, he seemed to be anticipating something.

Well, whatever it was, it had better be something amusi—

“‘ _My boss is a wanker.’_ ” The blood on her face had never been drained as fast as it did at that moment. She shot Yasuhara what she hoped was a dangerous, albeit panicked, look. The latter only exacerbated her horror when he looked at her with well-practiced innocent surprise on his face. He even had the guts to mouth, ‘Is that your voice?’

“‘ _My boss is a wanker. My boss is a wanker. My bo—’_ ”

She heard Noll’s raised but slightly muffled voice from inside his office. He was talking to someone? But she was sure that her boss was alone in his office… Wait. Did that mean a recording of her voice was made into his phone’s ringtone?!

She grasped her head with both hands and groaned, “Yasuhara-san, I’m feeling this great urge to curse you right now.”


End file.
